5 Services You Might Not Know our Photolab Offers

It probably isn’t surprising to know our Photolab can print photos. After all, we’ve been printing your photos (or your parents’ or your grandparents’) for over 35 years. But with the help of our skilled Photolab technicians, we can do a whole lot more than that. (Please verify turnaround times by calling your local Photolab)

From film processing and scanning, to digital restoration and image inspection, here are 5 services you may not know our Photolab offers:

1. C41 film processing at all locations

If you’ve been shooting on film for a long time now, you’ll have noticed it’s gotten harder and harder to find a photolab to process your film. Many labs no longer offer this service due to the increasing popularity of digital photography. But we wholeheartedly believe that film photography still has a place alongside digital. That’s why we offer C41 film processing at all of our London Drugs Photolab locations, which includes 35mm, 110, 126 and APS. Slide film photographers, don’t worry, we have you covered too. We also offer quality E-6 slide film processing. So bring in your slide film, C41 film, pinhole and disposable cameras, and we’ll help process them all for you!

Of course, we won’t just process your film. We’ll print it too. Choose from glossy or pearl print surfaces, both of which are printed using patented inks and the highest-resolution printing in the industry, resulting in excellent definition in your images and rich colour, no matter the type of film source.

Often, we can process your film in just one hour. For exact turnaround times, contact your local London Drugs Photolab.

2. Film negative and slide scanning

Beyond processing your film and slides, we can also digitize your film for extra peace of mind. We can scan your film negatives and slides, putting them onto a CD, DVD or USB drive for you.

Once the film is digitized, your files can also be uploaded to a London Drugs Photolab account, so that you can print everything from enlargements to creative products using your photos.

3. Image Inspection

Every time you order prints from our Photolab, our dedicated technicians inspect every image and correct as needed. This can include lightening, darkening and even correcting for colour shift. You can rest easy when you bring your photos to us: we guarantee satisfaction on every print.

4. Photo Scanning Box Service

Our newest service makes the process of digitizing your old photos and documents infinitely easier and faster. Order one of our Photo Scanning Boxes, pick it up in-store, and take it home to fill it with up to 800 documents and photos (up to 8.5”x11” in size). Then just bring it back to us in-store, where we’ll digitize everything for you. Once we’re done, all you have to do is pick up your original photos, along with the USB drive we’ve put the digital copies on!

We recommend using this service to preserve your personal photos and documents, to help avoid degradation as well as damage due to accident or disaster.

5. Digital Restoration

If precious photos of yours have been damaged, either due to the passage of time, or because of a flood, fire or other disaster, we may be able to help restore them to their former glory. Our Photolab technicians can digitally edit each individual image to bring back a little colour worn by dust and heat, fill in scratches, or restore parts of an image destroyed by mud and water damage. You’d be amazed at what we’re able to restore!

Once we’ve digitally restored your image, consider making duplicate digital and print copies so that you can avoid damage or loss in the future.

 

Curious to learn more about one of the services we’ve shared above? Pop into your local London Drugs Photolab and chat with a technician about how we can help with your photos!

3 Easy Ways to Display Your Larger than Life Photos

Sometimes it’s hard to imagine just how incredible your photos are when they’re only displayed on your camera’s little display screen, or on your phone. But trust us when we say having them printed as a large format print will make them look breathtaking!

Using our state-of-the-art printing processes, we’re able to make your images larger than life, in a variety of fine art textures and finishes. And you might be surprised by just how big we can print your images – our ultimate enlargements, for example, go all the way up to a whopping 44”x96”!

No matter which surface or size you choose, our experienced Photolab technicians hand-inspect every image and correct it as needed; we can lighten, darken and even correct for colour shift. We also use patented dye inks that deliver rich colour with superior definition. And we guarantee satisfaction on every print. With over 35 years of photofinishing experience under our belts, we’re confident you’ll be blown away by the look and quality.

And if you’re on a time crunch – no need to worry. Many of our large format prints have quick turnaround times, so your photos will be ready to hang in no time.

Here are 3 easy ways to display your larger than life photos:

1. Ultimate Enlargements

Turnaround time: only 2 business days

Sizes available: 5”x7” up to 44”x96”

Our ultimate enlargements can be printed up to 44”x96”, which is definitely big enough to cover any of your bare walls. We use our Epson P9000 large format printer with high quality Epson inks, which have an archival stability of 200 years. Your print can even be mounted and laminated for easy display and durability. The only tough choice: will you order on high quality pearl or glossy photo paper?

2. Canvas Gallery Wraps

Turnaround time: only 3-5 business days

Sizes available: 9”x9” up to 40”x60”

For a textured fine art finish, you can order one of our premium quality Canvas Gallery Wraps up to 40”x60” in size. We have two finishes to choose from: traditional or pearlescent metallic. What’s great about this style of prints is that you don’t even need a frame! The canvas is stretched over a 1-3/4” deep wooden frame and can feature either black, white or mirrored edges. The wooden frame makes your print extra easy to display and gives your image added depth and dimension. Plus, you also have the option to order with a floating frame, so that your print looks even more polished when hung on the wall.

3. Aluminum Metal Panels

Turnaround time: only 5 business days (14 days for sizes larger than 16”x20”)

Sizes available: 4”x4” up to 40”x60”

Looking for an ultra-modern way to showcase your photos? Our Aluminum Metal Panels go up to size 40”x60”, and with their high-gloss finish, they’re sure to stand out. These lightweight metal panels are also very durable and resistant to fading, making them a great option for displaying in high traffic areas.

The metal panels are printed by taking coated aluminum sheets and infusing them with dyes. The process will make your image come alive with vibrant colour – especially if your image is highly detailed, like a landscape photo.

 

Ready to make your images larger than life? Get started by uploading your photos to our Photolab online, using our in-store kiosks, or downloading our London Drugs Photolab App for iOS and Android!

Contest: Show London Drugs Your Old Photos for a Chance to Win

Do you have funny, heartfelt, or age-old photos? Share them with London Drugs and the Photolab! In celebration of Save Your Photos Day on September 29th, we want to help you preserve your most treasured photographs.

Degradation over time or even an unforeseen disaster could cause your irreplaceable photos to be lost forever. By taking measures to properly save your photos, you’ll be able to rest easy knowing they are well protected. To help get you started, here’s everything you need to save your photos.

Photo Scanning Box Service

Our Photo Scanning Box Service, so you can have up to 800 photos and documents (up to 8.5”x11” in size) digitized in a flash! How the service works: pick up the box from your local London Drugs Photolab, fill it up with your photos and documents, and then bring it back to us in-store, where we’ll digitize everything for you. Once we’re done, you just pick up your original photos as well as a USB drive with the digital copies.

Portable storage and flash drive

One WD 1TB My Passport Portable Storage, and one Transcend V790 128GB Flash Drive to properly back up your photos. (Our LDExperts recommend you keep the hard drives in separate locations, so that in case of an accident or disaster such as fire or flood, one hard drive will still have your precious photos saved).

London Drugs gift card

A $100 London Drugs gift card to print your favourite photos, so you can fully enjoy them on display, knowing they’re all safely backed up!

To enter for a chance to win our Save Your Photos Day Package, valued at approx. $400:

  1. Follow @LDPhotolab on Instagram or Twitter
  2. Comment on one of our Save Your Photos Day Contest posts, and tell us why your photos need saving.
  3. Get a bonus entry by sharing a pic of your old/special photos with the hashtag #savemyphotosLD

Contest starts September 7, 2018 and ends at 11:59PM PST on September 29, 2018.


Contest rules and regulations:

  1. To enter this @LDPhotolab Save Your Photos Instagram & Twitter contest:
    Step 1. Follow @LDPhotolab on Instagram or Twitter
    Step 2. Comment on one of our Save Your Photos Day Contest posts, and tell us why your photos need saving.
    Step 3. Get a bonus entry by sharing a pic of your old/special photos with the hashtag #savemyphotosLD
  2. Contest is open to all residents of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba who, as of the date the prize draw is made: (i) have not won a London Drugs contest since September 7, 2017; (ii) have reached the age of majority in the province in which they reside as of September 7, 2018; (iii) are not employees of London Drugs, their respective advertising and promotional agencies, the independent judging organization (if any), or any family member living with any such employee.
  3. No purchase necessary. Limit one entry per person per social network per contest, plus one bonus entry per person per social network per contest. Entries must be received no later than 11:59 PM Pacific Time on September 29th, 2018. London Drugs is not responsible for entries that become lost or misdirected. All entries become the property of London Drugs Limited and will not be returned.
  4. The winners will be randomly chosen on the day the contest ends (see dates below) in Vancouver, British Columbia, from all eligible entries received per contest. To win, selected entrants must correctly answer a skill-testing mathematical question and must sign London Drug’s declaration and release confirming compliance with the contest rules and acceptance of the prize(s) as awarded, releasing London Drugs from liability in association with the contest and prize and consenting to the use of their name, photograph, voice and statements for promotional and publicity purposes.
  5. There will be one (1) prize awarded to one winner: one (1) Photo Scanning Box, one (1) WD 1TB My Passport USB 3.0 Portable Storage, one (1) Transcend V790 USB 3.0 128GB Flash Drive, and a $100 London Drugs gift card, with a total package retail value of approximately $400. See details and contest dates below. Prize must be accepted as awarded, are non-transferable and no substitutions are permitted. Prize will be awarded at the closest London Drugs location to contest winner.
    Contest dates – Monday, September 7, 2018 12:01AM to Saturday, September 29, 2018 11:59PM Pacific Time
    Draw date – 12:00PM Pacific Time Monday, October 1, 2018
  6. Only one prize may be won by any one person and household. In the event that any selected entrant incorrectly answers the skill-testing question or is otherwise unwilling or unable to comply in full with these rules, a new entry will be drawn.
  7. Selected winner will be contacted by email or on the social network they were drawn from. No correspondence will be entered into except with selected entrants. If the winner does not respond then she/he will be notified for the second time, 3 (three) days after the first notification. If the winner still does not respond within 3 days of the second notification, a new winner will be chosen in the same manner until a winner is successfully contacted.
  8. The chances of winning a prize will depend on the number of eligible entries received. Decisions of the judges in respect of all aspects of this contest including, but not limited to, eligibility of entries and correctness of answers given to the skill-testing question, are final.
  9. London Drugs and their respective advertising and promotional agencies, the independent judging organization, and their respective agents are not liable to an entrant in any manner relating to the contest or the awarding and use of the prize(s).
  10. This contest is subject to all federal, provincial, and municipal laws and regulations. By entering the entrant consents to the collection of all personal information included on their entry and agrees to the use and disclosure of such information by and between London Drugs, an independent judging organization and their agents. The winner(s) also agrees to the collection, use and disclosure of their name, entry, photographs, voice and statements for London Drugs’ publicity purposes without further compensation. All personal information collected from entrants will be used only for the purposes of administering the contest and for marketing and promotional purposes as contemplated by these rules; under no circumstances will any personal information be sold or rented to third parties. All personal information collected by London Drugs will be kept in accordance with the privacy policy of London Drugs, which can be viewed at www.londondrugs.com, and in accordance with all applicable privacy laws.
  11. The right is reserved by London Drugs to terminate this contest, in whole or in part, and/or modify, amend or suspend the contest, and/or these rules in any way, should any cause beyond the reasonable control of London Drugs or its agents affect the proper administration thereof.

Seasonal Photography Tips for Better Fall Photos

London Drugs Seasonal Fall Photography Tips

The seasonal changing of the leaves creates a whole new visual playground for us photographers to enjoy each fall. For nature photographers in particular, it’s the dream season. Rainy skies, multi-coloured leaves, and crisp landscapes are easy to come by this time of year—it’s just up to you as the photographer to capture and frame those beautiful fall elements.

London Drugs Photolab Photography Fall

One of the best ways to save and showcase your seasonal photography is with a personalized photo calendar. Each month, proudly display a new photo you captured that truly embodies the season. For fall, we imagine a picturesque shot of vividly-coloured foliage, or maybe a moody, rainy landscape shot. The choice, of course, is yours.

The best prints start with the best photos, so as part of our Seasonal Photography series, our LDExperts are sharing their tips for achieving better fall images. The goal is to provide you with a starting point to improve your shooting, so that by the end of the season, you’ll have some beautiful new photography to add to your own personalized photo calendar. And stay tuned for more posts in the series for tips on shooting in winter, spring, and summer!

Fall Landscape Composition

Four simple ways to add impact to your scenic shots:

  • Rule of thirds: divide the scene into 3×3, and place important features along the third lines or where the line crosses.
  • Leading lines: the viewer’s eye will be drawn along lines such as roads, rivers and fences, so compose the shot so that the lines lead to the subject.
  • Frames: look for ways to surround the subject with natural frames in the scene, such as the branches or trunks of trees. This helps draw in the viewer’s eye.
  • Foreground interest: look for mossy river banks, clusters of flowers and textured rocks to lift the bottom of the frame.

 

 

Fall Rainy Landscapes

Begin with:

  • Exposure mode: Aperture Priority
  • Aperture: f/11-16
  • Shutter speed: Automatically Set
  • ISO: 100-400

Keep in mind:

  • You’ll be dealing with slow shutter speeds; use a tripod and a remote release.
  • Apply exposure compensation of +1/3 to +2EV to brighten up the scene.
  • Fit a lens hood and use a waterproof cover to protect the camera and lens.

 

Key advice: Take plenty of microfibre cloths on the shoot and use them to keep the lens’ front element clear of raindrops.

Fall Landscapes with Flash

Begin with:

  • Exposure mode: Manual
  • Aperture: f/11
  • Shutter speed: Varies
  • ISO: 100

Keep in mind:

  • Low natural light levels on a dark stormy day or at sunrise or sunset will make the light from your flash appear more obvious.
  • Choose a scene that has a suitable subject close to the camera.
  • Set an appropriate shutter speed to slightly underexpose the background.

 

Key advice: Although pop-up flash may work well, a powerful flashgun off-camera will enable you to blend in the light better.


Our Photolab Experts are happy to help turn your beautiful fall photography into something special you can display.  Visit us at your local London Drugs to get tips on creating your own personalized calendar, or get started on your own by ordering online or at our in-store kiosks!

World Photo Day: Celebrate Your Family’s Legacy Through Photos

World Photo Day falls on August 19th this year, and it is an opportunity for us to celebrate the incredible power of photography. Working in the London Drugs Photolab, our LDExperts are able to see the impact of photography first-hand, as they help bring cherished moments to life through photos.

It’s pretty special that our photos have the power to bring back memories, transport us to places we’ve never been, and make us smile—or even shed a tear.

Another way we can use photography is for visual storytelling. One of the most important stories you can tell is your family legacy. In honour of World Photo Day, our LDExperts will show you how to use photography as a storytelling tool for crafting your family’s legacy. We’ve compiled some tips below to walk you through the process of gathering your photos and preserving your family’s story for future generations.

Gather information and photos ASAP!

There’s no better time than World Photo Day to finally get started on documenting your family legacy. The idea of chronicling your family history may seem overwhelming—it can be a massive undertaking, with thousands of old photos to dig through and hundreds of distant family members to connect. But it’s worth it to be able to pass down your legacy to the next generation, who can then one day pass it down to their children.

It’s especially helpful to gather photos and documents while grandparents and great-grandparents are still alive, as they can help you find what you need and explain the photos and documents they have in their possession. Being able to add details of personal stories will help to enhance your photos.

Contact family relatives and ask if they are interested in contributing photos, documents, and stories. If they can share specifics about each photo, even better! You may find details written on the backs of photos as well, which helps pinpoint people and dates. If you’re adding info to the photo yourself, make sure to use a Standard #2 graphite pencil only.

When collecting items and information from your family, consider asking for photos and documents relating to:

  • Births
  • Deaths
  • Marriages
  • Military service
  • Family portraits
  • Schools and jobs
  • Pets
  • Achievements (graduation, sports, etc.)
  • Other special and historic family moments

If you dig up an old photograph, but there’s been some damage (scratches, water damage), we may be able to help restore it. Speak with one of our Photolab Experts to see if we can digitally restore the image for you.

Of course, don’t forget to include current photos from your life as well! You may want to pull from photo albums, computers, cameras, as well as online sites like Facebook or Instagram.

Organize your family photos and documents

Once you have everything you need to get started, it’s time to organize all those scattered photos, documents, and stories from the various family members. If you’re working with both digital and physical items, you’ll need to organize both separately, but try to keep your organization methods the same.

Here are some ways to consider organizing your photos:

  • By generation (great-grandparents, grandparents)
  • By period of time (the 60’s, or 1940-1960)
  • By individuals (mother, father, self)
  • By family (ex. ‘The Johnsons’, ‘The Macdonalds’)

It helps to separate your photos and documents into boxes or large envelopes as you pick where each one should go. Once you’re done organizing everything, it’s time to go through once more and decide which ones you’ll actually want to feature when you begin crafting your family’s story.

Digitize your photos with the Photo Scanning Box

Now that you’ve organized what you have, it’s time to digitize any old photographs and documents. You can either do this at home, using a scanner, or use our Photo Scanning Box service. To use our Photo Scanning Box, just pick one up at your local London Drugs Photolab, fill it with up to 800 photographs and documents (up to 8.5”x11” in size), and bring it back to us in-store, where we’ll digitize everything for you. Then pick up your originals as well as the digital files on a USB drive!

What sort of files might you want to digitize? Think old black and white photographs, photo prints, birth certificates, marriage certificates, etc. Digitizing these items will not only give you the freedom to work with them digitally, but will also ensure those valuable memories are preserved, in case something were to happen to the originals.

Put on your storytelling hat

Once you have all of your family’s history in digital form, you can start to craft the story of your family’s legacy! It’s all about telling the story of where your family has been and what they have done in their lifetime.

Our Photolab offers a variety of different photo book designs that are perfect for showcasing your family’s story. Our Photographic Albums and Coffeetable Photo Books are both great options, and are printed on high quality surfaces that your family will be able to enjoy for years to come.

You may want to create multiple photo books to organize your photos as you did earlier. You can choose to create a photo book for each part of your family (ex. ‘The Johnsons’, ‘The Macdonalds’), or for each generation (ex. the great-grandparents, the grandparents), or by time period (ex. the 60’s or 1940-1960). Once you’ve chosen the photos and documents you want to feature in your photo book, you can also add text to identify people, places and dates…or even personal family stories.

Share your family’s legacy… with your family!

The best part about having all of your photos digitized, is that you can easily share copies with all of your family! No need to split up valuable old photographs between family members anymore. Once you’ve created your family legacy photo book(s) on our Photolab website (or in-store at our kiosks), you’ll be able to order as many copies as you like. Send them directly to anywhere in Canada, or pick them up in-store and hand out to them in person.

Don’t forget: your legacy isn’t over! Continue to collect important photos and documents in the years to come. You can always add more photo books to your family legacy collection as life goes on. Your family is sure to be grateful that you’ve preserved their legacy and brought their memories to life!


Need a little help creating your family legacy photobook? Our Photolab Experts are ready to support—just visit us at your local London Drugs. Or you can get started right away by uploading your photos to our Photolab website, our London Drugs Photolab App for iOS and Android, or to our in-store Photolab kiosks.

Celebrate World Photo Day by Sharing the Power of Photography

This August 19th on World Photo Day, we will be celebrating an incredible 179 years of photography!

Photography has come a long way in 179 years

In 1839, the Daguerreotype was invented by Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre—the first commercially successful photographic process. Each daguerreotype was a one-of-a-kind image on a silver-plated sheet of copper. Things have certainly changed a great deal since then!

With advancements in technology, we can now take photos digitally and duplicate them an infinite number of times. The diversity of print surfaces has also grown to photo paper, canvas, bamboo, aluminum, and everyday objects like water bottles and beach blankets. The options are endless!

It’s truly amazing just how far the art of photography has come, thanks to photographers like yourself who have kept it alive with your passion for the craft. Why do we continue to take photos 179 years later? We think it’s because photos have this seemingly magical ability to make our best moments live forever. They have the ability to bring back memories, transport you to places you’ve never been, make you smile, or even shed a tear. They even have the ability to connect people around the world. It’s all the power of photography.

How you can celebrate World Photo Day

Why not share the power of photography with someone special? Families and friends are sometimes around the globe. Keeping in touch when you can’t be there in person isn’t always easy, but photos can help. Here are a few ways to make someone’s day with the power of a photo:

  1. Make them laugh: send them a funny up-to-date snapshot of your family on a mug.
  2. Help them reminisce: have an old, cherished family photo digitally restored for them.
  3. Bring them tears of joy: share a photo calendar of your little one’s first years (human or pet!).
  4. Help them feel connected: send a small square Instagram book of all your latest adventures.
  5. Make them smile: surprise them with a framed print of your favourite photo together.


There are lots of other ways you can surprise a loved one with the power of a photo. Visit our London Drugs Photolab online, in-store, or on our London Drugs Photolab App for iOS and Android for more photo gift ideas.

Remember: there’s no need to send them the original photo – make sure you’ve digitized old photos first, so you can share the duplicates with as many friends or family members as you like!

Are Your Photos at Risk? Protecting Your Photos from Damage

You never think it’ll happen to you, until it does. You’ve come home to a flooded basement, or have been victim to a fire, and now realize many of your possessions are damaged or destroyed. The material things are easy to replace, but your photographs are one-of-a-kind. What do you do?

 

Digital Restoration

Our London Drugs Photolab experts can help bring your damaged photos back to their former glory with our digital restoration service. If you’ve experienced a devastating event in your home, or your photographs just haven’t stood the test of time, let our LDExperts work their magic.

They can digitally edit each individual image to bring back a little colour worn by dust and heat, fill in scratches, or restore parts of the image destroyed by mud and water damage. You’d be amazed what can be restored. Our LDExperts just ask that before bringing in photos with mud and water damage, that you wait until the mud dries, and then very gently brush off the mud as best possible.

Once these photos have been digitized during our restoration process, we recommend not only making a print copy of your restored photo, but ensuring you have the digital file backed up safely as well – to avoid any damage or loss in future.

 

Be Proactive and Protect Your Photos

Before the worst, plan with the best. Our Photolab makes it easy to keep everything from your baby photos to your wedding photos safe and sound, ensuring the longevity of all those moments preserved by a single snapshot.

The first step to protecting your photos from potential loss or damage is to create digital copies of all print photos. This can be a tedious process, which is why many put off doing it, but we can take care of that. Just pick up a Photo Scanning Box at any London Drugs Photolab location, fill it with up to 800 photographs and documents (up to 8.5”x11”), and bring it back to our Photolab. We’ll do the legwork of digitizing all those photos for you, then we’ll return to you the original photos and a USB drive with all of the digital files.

We recommend safeguarding your digitized photos on at least one other USB or Hard Drive, kept in different locations. Then you can sit back with peace of mind knowing you’ll have a secondary digital backup if one of the hard drives or USBs is damaged or lost.

To protect those original prints, consider relocating them to a safer place in your home. For example, if you live in an area that is susceptible to flooding, consider moving your stash of photos from the basement to an upstairs room. Meanwhile if your area is more susceptible to wildfires, you could protect your most precious photos by keeping them in a fire-resistant safe in the basement.

 

Have questions about how we can help protect your most important memories? Just speak with any of our LDExperts in the Photolab! Or learn more about our Photo Scanning Box service here.

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